


Shiver

by FlameFox345



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: College, College AU, Dancing, First Kiss, Fluff, Halloween, Jefferson's Coat, M/M, Modern, Modern AU, Party, shy jmads, waltz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 11:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8443753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlameFox345/pseuds/FlameFox345
Summary: James Madison and Thomas Jefferson don't talk. That is, until they do.(Gift for the Madison to my Jefferson, ily darling ❤️)





	

James was a very reserved person when he wanted to be. He didn't usually have many reasons to bring himself out of his shell. He had always kept to himself, passing up many chances to join the huge friend groups (specifically Hamilton's.)  
It was his sophomore year of college when he met Thomas Jefferson, human disaster #2.

Thomas came into James' life in a blur of purple velvet and an overuse of the word 'darling.' James had seen Thomas before, perhaps around the library or passing from class to class. He was usually being trailed by a pretty girl or even sometimes a pretty boy that raised a few eyebrows. James never bothered to interact with him, to him, Thomas was unapproachable. Until he wasn't.

James was sitting on a bench in front of the campus' fountain. It was a quiet day, one that was thankfully void of classes and annoying roommates. It was quickly nearing Halloween, and while James himself had any interest in celebrating, he knew many of his friends would still drag him along to midnight parties and drunken late escapades.

James was used to be a back seat driver in social situations. He was perfectly fine as his friends scheduled dates that he knew in the back of his heart he wasn't invited too, but would be dragged to in pity anyway. Sure, James was fine with being in the background, but the pity was a different story.

So here he was, sitting on a bench instead of in his dorm because he wasn't about to go to and interrupt his roommate's time with his partner.

His pencil tapped on his paper, reading over blocks of notes that he wished he didn't have to memorize to ace a test. He had just zoned back into the abyss of studying when there was a tap on his shoulder.

James jerked, looking up and behind him to lock his dark eyes with an identical pair. The other person smiled and cocked their head, James just stared confused. "Sorry to interrupt darling, but I couldn't help but notice that it's fifty five degrees out and you're in a t-shirt." The mystery person said in a heavily accented voice.

James blinked out of his haze, suddenly noticing the drastic temperature change. "O-oh, thanks, I should probably go back to my dorm," he said, beginning to stand up when a hand on his shoulder pushed him back down, "you're James Madison right? Burr's roommate? Yeah, it's probably best you stay here, Theo's over right now. I can hear her across the hall." The man chuckled, and James was sure the shiver he felt wasn't from the cold.

The man shrugged off his jacket, "here, take it, I'll can manage the walk back, darling." He said as he handed James his velvety purple overcoat. James reluctantly took it from his hands.

The man looked at expectantly until James pulled it on. He seemed satisfied, so he began to walk away, and a brief panic swept through James. "Wait! How can I return this?" He yelped. The man turned back to him, a smirk etched onto his lips. "Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson. I'm sure we'll run into each other again." And with that, Thomas Jefferson left James half-sitting, half-standing on a bench in a jacket two sizes two big.

\---

James quickly discovered that Thomas was a lying prick. They never crossed paths, ever. A few times, James would even sit down on the bench and wait for at least a half hour for the other man, but he never came.

He asked fellow students in their dorm hall, but apparently none of them knew Thomas in the slightest. For a while, James even had he consideration to think Thomas was a ghost before Burr told him an elaborate story about their freshman year and the legendary fight between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.

James eventually gave up on finding Thomas again, and besides, he wasn't going to complain about the jacket at all.

That's when James gets the letter. Well, he doesn't receive it, Aaron does, but supposedly if something is given to Burr, it's now James' as well. The only thing James sees is 'Halloween' and he's already decided that he doesn't want to go. But of course, James knows the risky an option because Aaron is already asking him if he wants to go, and James is a nice person, so he says sure.

And that's when James finds himself hiding in the corner of an obnoxiously drunken Halloween party. He's trying his best to keep himself hidden, to not push himself into the middle of the chaos, but he's already been handed two spiked drinks and had breath shoved into his face in just three hours.

He settled on wandering around to house to find actual water. He had found himself a lovely corner in the only quiet part of the house, and was happily sipping water and reading a book. And despite himself, Thomas' jacket was slung across his lap in a mock blanket.

It was getting later into the night, the screams and laughter down stairs slowly morphing into hatter and drunken slurs. James always regretted when he came to these types of things. "Hey darling, why so lonesome?" Was the sentence that cut through James' mind. He snapped his head up at the familiar voice, spotting those familiar brown eyes and striking smile. This time, James couldn't have blamed he cold for the shiver even if he wanted too.

"Parties aren't really my thing..." James answered, rubbing the back of his neck just so he had something to do. Thomas nudged James shoulder, and he unconsciously moved over to allow Thomas to sit next to him. "So what is your thing?" He asked.

"Quiet, anything that's quieter than all of this," was James' simple retort. "I'll keep that in mind."

It went quiet, the silence comforting instead of awkward. James didn't return to his book, but he did allow his eyes to memorize Thomas' form before he disappeared for another three weeks. "I should probably give this back to you..." James mumbled, picking up he jacket from his lap and handing it to Thomas.

Said man blinked in surprise, taking the velvet coat back into his arms. "Oh, thank you... I forgot about this," he laughed, throwing an arm around James' shoulder. "Well, darling, I know parties aren't your thing, but would you like to dance? One song even?" Thomas began to beg.

James felt heat bloom on his cheeks. "I-I don't know, Thomas, I don't exactly dance." He murmured, but that apparently wasn't enough because he was suddenly being pulled to his feet by an overly enthusiastic southern giant. "I can teach you! And you don't have to worry about anyone seeing you, you can hear the music in here." Now that James was paying attention, he could hear the music.

And just his luck, the usual upbeat tune had suddenly changed into what seemed like a waltz. Speak of the devil, "do you know how to waltz?" Thomas asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder, and the other sliding down to intertwine their hands. James' mind went into overdrive. "Um, I never learned."

Thomas smiled patiently. "All you need to do is put your hand on my waist," James' shakily did so, "and for now, just follow my lead."

James yelped as he was suddenly pulled into a dance that he didn't know, stumbling over his feet to follow Thomas. It took a few minutes, but the frantic tripping slowly developed into a slow dance. Thomas had since then pulled them impossibly closer, laying his head in the crook of James' neck.

James hummed deep in his chest, his grip on Thomas' waist squeezing. "Anything else I need to know?" He whispered. Thomas' answering mutter was, "do you know how to spin?"

James surprised himself when he suddenly, whipped Thomas around to send him twirling into a spin and back into his arms. He couldn't tell if Thomas' furious blush was from the sudden movement or the fact that they were now pressed against each other's chests. Thomas made no move to get away however.

"Does a waltz do a dip?" James asked, his breath glittering across Thomas' skin. Thomas' eyes fluttered, and he gulped. "Um...I guess you can-" and before he could finish his sentence, James had suddenly tipped their weight to where Thomas was leaning back against James' arm.

James followed after him, and their noses touched.

The music changed. The slow music sped up into a fast beat and James could hear the shouts of excitement form downstairs.

James didn't move, Thomas didn't complain. They both just stood there, staring in a dip that had James' arm tingling but the spake in his stomach was enough to rival it. And then James blinked, and whatever was between them snapped. James stood back up, bringing Thomas back from the dip, and he quickly stepped away.

"James?" Thomas asked as James breathed deeply. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... It was nice seeing you, I guess," he said in a rush, bending down to pick up how things to leave.

James heard Thomas' panicked breath behind him. "Wait! No, James, please-" "Do we even know each other?" James interrupted, voice shaky, "I didn't know your name until a few weeks ago!" Thomas went silent, and James huffed, turning once again to walk away.

His wrist was grabbed, and he was yanked backwards. Thomas looked distraught, and James couldn't help but clench his fists at the pang of guilt he felt. "I really like you," Thomas muttered in a rush, "I never talked to you because you were always with Aaron and Aaron was always with Hamilton. You're really cute and you're always nice to me even though we don't know each other very well. And I know you're shy, but I really wanted to get to know you. And maybe I'm not as confident and cocky as everyone thinks I am because here I am telling my crush that I like him even though we've talked like twice. This probably made things really awkward, I'm such an idiot, I'm so sor-"

Thomas' ramble was abruptly cut off when lips pressed against his. His eyes flew open, briefly taking in the sight of James standing in front of him before he practically melted. His arms wrapped around James' neck as he felt James' arms snake around his waist. Thomas sighed and his lips parted just slightly, and he felt his entire body shudder at the touch of James' tongue to his own. Their tongues tangled together and Thomas wasn't sure who that whine came from but everything was wet and glorious and- "Ahem?"

The two sprang apart like they had been electrocuted, their lips parting with a loud smack. James immediately buried his face in his hands as Thomas stared over toward the other end of the hallway.

Hercules stood in the dim lighting, a smug grin covering his face. "Hey lovebirds, Eliza wanted me to tell you that the costume contest is starting, but I think you guys are a bit busy." He said with a laugh, and turned back down the hallway. The last thing they heard was Hercules shouting, "They were making out!" followers by cheers.

James groaned, running a hand down his face when he felt a bunch of fabric drape across his shoulders. He looked up, spotting the purple velvet of Thomas' jacket out of the corner of his eyes. "Thomas, what?"

Thomas grinned, but it was shy and nervous. "Keep it, now you have an excuse to go out with me. Plus, it's cold, I don't want you to freeze walking me back to my dorm."

James chuckled lowly, and this time, Thomas was the one who wished he could blame the cold on the shiver that ran through him at that small sound.


End file.
